The Hammer Museum's Eleventh Annual Gala in the Garden

“It’s always nice to be in a museum after hours,” mused Jena Malone Saturday evening at the Hammer Museum’s eleventh annual Gala in the Garden, sponsored by Bottega Veneta. White lights twinkled in the trees of the museum’s atrium, while upstairs guests Ed Ruscha, Maria Bello, and others mingled over cocktails and wandered through the museum’s James Welling and Mark Leckey exhibitions. Catherine Opie hugged her longtime friend and gallerist Shaun Caley Regen, and Viola Davis sat on a bench deeply immersed in conversation with playwright Tony Kushner, one of the evening’s honorees, whom she first met more than two decades ago when they were both at Juilliard. China Chow arrived with artist Alex Israel, joining Scott Sternberg, who accepted congratulations on his first Band of Outsiders store, opening in Tokyo this Friday. “Oh my god, I’m so excited,” gushed the designer. As Diane Kruger, Laura Mulleavy, and Jodie Foster took their seats for dinner, Rita Wilson and Will Ferrell went onstage. “Thank you all for coming. I’m Tom Hanks,” deadpanned the comedian (though Hanks cochaired the evening with his wife and Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier, at the last minute he could not attend). Committed to his role, Ferrell planted a kiss on Wilson before ceding the stage to museum director Ann Philbin, who happily announced that the Hammer will be forgoing paid admission thanks to donations by museum benefactors Brenda R. Potter and Erika J. Glazer. When artist Charles Ray introduced the evening’s second honoree, sculptor Robert Gober, painter Kaari Upson sighed, “One of the greatest artists ever.” Gober was soon followed by another great artist, k.d. lang, who ended the night with a magical after-hours performance of “Hallelujah.”